5th-Ranked Chargers Charge By Stingy Warriors
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The Wawasee Warrior football team started the 1999 season with a huge road win last week over Whitko, defeating the Wildcats 20-0.
After picking up a huge win, the Warriors didn't have time to take much of a break. Instead, they had to turn their game up a notch.
We aren't talking about a normal Friday night football game for the Warriors: They were up against a state power, the No. 5 class 4A team in the state - Carroll. Carroll demolished Leo last week, clubbing the Lions 53-7. All eyes were on the Warriors to see how they would rise to this huge challenge after opening the season with a big win.
The Warrior defense came ready to play, limiting Carroll to four plays and out after a couple of opening drive penalties. However, the Charger defense then shut down a Warrior offense that produced only four plays.
After scoring 53 points last week, it was just a matter of time before Carroll would dent the scoreboard.
On Carroll's next possession, the Chargers went 34 yards on eight plays, capped by soccer/football kicking standout Pat Jordan's 47-yard field goal to put Carroll up 3-0. Jordan, who is being heavily recruited by several Big 10 football teams put on a clinic.
"We are really blessed to have a kicker this good," Carroll coach Mike Cheviron said. "He spends 15 minutes with us each day and he really doesn't need that much time."
After the Warriors were forced to punt again, it took the Chargers 1:32 to score again. Josh Myers ran for a two yard touchdown run to up the score to 9-0. The rout was about to be on, right? Not exactly.
Wawasee had to find a way to get back in the game, and they did in a huge way early in the second quarter. Quarterback Adam Brown broke free from several takles and rambled 40 yards to get the Warriors right back in the game. The Warrior extra point try failed, leaving Carroll with a slim 9-6 lead. The Warriors' defense forced the Chargers to punt and was on the verge of driving for the lead.
After driving down the field, Adam Brown had his pass intercepted by Zach Schortgen, who ran the ball back for a 32-yard touchdown that bursted Wawasee's momentum. Jordan added the extra point and Carroll was well on their way to their second win of the year.
"We made a lot of mental mistakes," Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld said. "You can't make those kind of mistakes against a good team like Carroll. We play a tough schedule and we have to learn how to step up in key situations."
Wawasee was still alive at halftime, only trailing 16-6 at the break.
"They are a big, strong football team,' Cheviron said. "We really played solid last week against Leo, but tonight we played really sloppy football."
The second half was almost a carbon copy of the first. Carroll scored with 5:40 left in the third on a 10-yard run by Eric Shippy. The Chargers were supposed to punt, but Wawasee was charged with roughing the punter, giving the Chargers the chance to score the easy touchdown.
"Again in big situations, we make key mental mistakes," Rietveld said. "We had chances to do some things, but one play can really change a series."
Carroll took a big 23-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter, where it would take a miracle for the Warriors to make a run at the No.5 team in the state.
The Warriors and their huge crowd weren't ready to give up quite yet. The Chargers had other ideas. After a long 10-play, 77-yard drive that took most of the third quarter, Kenny Hendricks scored on a 1-yard run with 11:55 in the game to seal the deal.
"We really are blessed to have such a good offensive unit,' Cheviron added. "We didn't play a good game tonight, but we still scored a lot of points."
The Warriors ended on a good note, scoring the final points of the game on a Adam Brown 1-yard run. The two-point conversion failed.
"I really thought we improved on the defensive end,' Rietveld added. "Carroll really shut down our running game and they deserve a lot of credit. This is a very good football team."
Carroll outgained the host Warriors 234-111 yards for the game, proving why they are state ranked.
With the win, Carroll improves to 2-0 and hosts Norwell next week. Wawasee drops to 1-1 and opens its Northern Lakes Conference schedule on the road next week at Northridge.
"We start the big part of our conference schedule next week. We have to make several adjustments and just come ready to play,' Rietveld concluded. [[In-content Ad]]
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The Wawasee Warrior football team started the 1999 season with a huge road win last week over Whitko, defeating the Wildcats 20-0.
After picking up a huge win, the Warriors didn't have time to take much of a break. Instead, they had to turn their game up a notch.
We aren't talking about a normal Friday night football game for the Warriors: They were up against a state power, the No. 5 class 4A team in the state - Carroll. Carroll demolished Leo last week, clubbing the Lions 53-7. All eyes were on the Warriors to see how they would rise to this huge challenge after opening the season with a big win.
The Warrior defense came ready to play, limiting Carroll to four plays and out after a couple of opening drive penalties. However, the Charger defense then shut down a Warrior offense that produced only four plays.
After scoring 53 points last week, it was just a matter of time before Carroll would dent the scoreboard.
On Carroll's next possession, the Chargers went 34 yards on eight plays, capped by soccer/football kicking standout Pat Jordan's 47-yard field goal to put Carroll up 3-0. Jordan, who is being heavily recruited by several Big 10 football teams put on a clinic.
"We are really blessed to have a kicker this good," Carroll coach Mike Cheviron said. "He spends 15 minutes with us each day and he really doesn't need that much time."
After the Warriors were forced to punt again, it took the Chargers 1:32 to score again. Josh Myers ran for a two yard touchdown run to up the score to 9-0. The rout was about to be on, right? Not exactly.
Wawasee had to find a way to get back in the game, and they did in a huge way early in the second quarter. Quarterback Adam Brown broke free from several takles and rambled 40 yards to get the Warriors right back in the game. The Warrior extra point try failed, leaving Carroll with a slim 9-6 lead. The Warriors' defense forced the Chargers to punt and was on the verge of driving for the lead.
After driving down the field, Adam Brown had his pass intercepted by Zach Schortgen, who ran the ball back for a 32-yard touchdown that bursted Wawasee's momentum. Jordan added the extra point and Carroll was well on their way to their second win of the year.
"We made a lot of mental mistakes," Wawasee coach Joe Rietveld said. "You can't make those kind of mistakes against a good team like Carroll. We play a tough schedule and we have to learn how to step up in key situations."
Wawasee was still alive at halftime, only trailing 16-6 at the break.
"They are a big, strong football team,' Cheviron said. "We really played solid last week against Leo, but tonight we played really sloppy football."
The second half was almost a carbon copy of the first. Carroll scored with 5:40 left in the third on a 10-yard run by Eric Shippy. The Chargers were supposed to punt, but Wawasee was charged with roughing the punter, giving the Chargers the chance to score the easy touchdown.
"Again in big situations, we make key mental mistakes," Rietveld said. "We had chances to do some things, but one play can really change a series."
Carroll took a big 23-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter, where it would take a miracle for the Warriors to make a run at the No.5 team in the state.
The Warriors and their huge crowd weren't ready to give up quite yet. The Chargers had other ideas. After a long 10-play, 77-yard drive that took most of the third quarter, Kenny Hendricks scored on a 1-yard run with 11:55 in the game to seal the deal.
"We really are blessed to have such a good offensive unit,' Cheviron added. "We didn't play a good game tonight, but we still scored a lot of points."
The Warriors ended on a good note, scoring the final points of the game on a Adam Brown 1-yard run. The two-point conversion failed.
"I really thought we improved on the defensive end,' Rietveld added. "Carroll really shut down our running game and they deserve a lot of credit. This is a very good football team."
Carroll outgained the host Warriors 234-111 yards for the game, proving why they are state ranked.
With the win, Carroll improves to 2-0 and hosts Norwell next week. Wawasee drops to 1-1 and opens its Northern Lakes Conference schedule on the road next week at Northridge.
"We start the big part of our conference schedule next week. We have to make several adjustments and just come ready to play,' Rietveld concluded. [[In-content Ad]]